1) Wash Your hands

Before you eat, after the restroom, using a tissue, and pretty much any time you are planning on touching your face. Seriously, think for a second about all the things that possibly could have touched the things you touch. When you have the flu you don’t think twice about touching the handle of a bathroom stall. When you don’t have the flu you don’t think twice about touching either. Get my drift?

2) Carry Hand Sanitizer

For all of the reasons above try to carry a bottle on you at all times. It won’t dry your hands out like repetitively washing them will, there are plenty of versions with aloe in them for extra moisturizing. Hand sanitizers, like Purell, are usually pocket sized and come in lots of colors and scents.

3) Don’t Let Tissues Pile Up

Many of us carry those cute little packs of tissues in our bags. The problem is what to do with the post use when you aren’t right next to a trash can. Lots of times the tissues get shoved in the bottom of the bag or thrown around the car or floor. They then become breeding grounds for a multitude of gross little bacteria. It might be extra work to walk the 10 feet to the nearest garbage bin…but eww. Do it.

4) Don’t Play With Strangers

Avoid being in large masses of people or around a lot of children. Amusement parks, mall, airplanes, daycares etc. Be extra vigilant about hand washing and take lots of vitamins and so on when going out. In large groups of people it is hard to tell who is sick or not.

The man next to you on the subway could look completely fine masked in massive amounts of Dayquil and Sudafed. Children often carry germs and flus without actually getting sick themselves. Also, the flus and colds can be contagious even before people start exhibiting symptoms and realize they are sick.

5) Get A Flu Shot

While there are many different flu viruses, the seasonal flu vaccine protects against the three seasonal viruses that research suggests will be most common. They usually use a live strain so that you can develop a real immunity against the flu when it attacks. For people afraid of needles, it is also available in a pain free nasal spray!

6) Take Supplements

Taking a vitamin C supplement can help reduce ever getting the flu in the first place. Make sure the supplements are completely natural like the ones from IDLife products. Or better yet, start each morning eating a fresh orange or any other fruit loaded with vitamin C.

7) Stay Sober

Caffeine and alcohol are both pretty awesome and fun, but they can trick your body and lower your immune system. Try to keep your body as pure and natural as possible during flu season. Being the designated driver is way better than lying in bed for a week feeling like you are going to die.

8) Get Sleep

Sleeping is your body’s time to repair itself. This is integral to keeping up a good immune system. If you deprive yourself of basic needs i.e. with fatigue, stress, hunger then your body will go into survival mode and shut down all the little things, like not getting sick.

9) Listen To Your Body

If you are starting to feel under the weather take a rest. Don’t overwork yourself. Taking a nap here or there now when you feel a cold coming on might seem impossible with your busy schedule, but it will be way more productive in the long run than having to spend days in bed.